NCCOS Staff

Puckett is a research marine biologist in the Coastal Resilience, Restoration and Assessment Branch. Through applied research, he strives to provide science-based solutions that improve restoration outcomes, and the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities. In these pursuits, he integrates general ecological principles with empirical observations (field- or lab-based) and numerical modeling. His research interests, broadly speaking, center around the ecology of coastal habitats—focusing primarily on oyster reefs, tidal wetlands, and, to a lesser degree, seagrasses.

Puckett's recent research has focused on: 1) developing decision-support tools to inform oyster restoration, 2) evaluating the ability of nature-based solutions to enhance coastal ecosystem and community resilience, 3) assessing vulnerability of coastal wetlands to natural and anthropogenic stressors, and 4) applying remote sensing technology (namely drones) to monitor and assess change in wetland and oyster reefs.

Prior to joining NCCOS in 2022, Puckett served as the Research Coordinator for the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Puckett received his B.S. in Environmental Science-Ecology from North Carolina State University, a M.S. in Fisheries Science from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from North Carolina State University.